Judge denies Skakel's bid for a new trial

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A judge denied Michael Skakel's bid for a new trial Thursday, rejecting a claim that two other men committed a 1975 killing that sent the Kennedy cousin to prison.

JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A judge denied Michael Skakel's bid for a new trial Thursday, rejecting a claim that two other men committed a 1975 killing that sent the Kennedy cousin to prison.

Stamford Superior Court Judge Edward R. Karazin Jr. ruled against Skakel based on a week of testimony in April.

Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy, is serving 20 years to life in prison after he was convicted in 2002 of fatally beating his 15-year-old neighbor Martha Moxley in the Belle Haven section of Greenwich in 1975 with a golf club.

Skakel attorney Hope Seeley said she was extremely disappointed by the ruling.

"We believe Michael Skakel was wrongly convicted, and we will continue to pursue every legal avenue available to us," Seeley said.

Those avenues include appealing to a higher court and arguing that Skakel was ineffectively represented by his trial attorney, Michael "Mickey" Sherman, who frequently appears on television shows about high-profile cases. Seeley has said Sherman failed to fully investigate witnesses because he had financial difficulties, a claim Sherman denies.

"I have no regrets about the trial other than the jury's verdict," Sherman said. "I have no misgivings whatsoever."

But the ruling cites instances where Sherman failed to make timely requests or find witnesses.

The U.S. Supreme Court set new standards for the competency of defense attorneys in 2005 when it tossed out a death sentence, saying public defenders had failed to research their client's history of child neglect, alcoholism and mental retardation.

"I think it's a very difficult road to proceed on," said Thomas Ullmann, president of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. "It's not unheard of a case can get reversed on that issue."

To win their most recent bid for a new trial, Skakel's attorneys would have had to prove that new evidence not available before his conviction could have changed the verdict.

Skakel sought a new trial based on Gitano "Tony" Bryant's claim that his two friends told him they got Moxley "caveman style." Bryant and Skakel attended the same private school.

Karazin wrote in his ruling that Bryant's statements were admissible, but not credible.

"No one has any recall of ever seeing Bryant and his companions in Belle Haven on the night of the murder," he wrote.

The judge also said Bryant's claim that the other two men went "caveman style" was not supported, saying there was no evidence Moxley was dragged by her hair. He noted that the state was not able to cross-examine Bryant.

Prosecutor Susann Gill said she was pleased with the judge's decision.

"The state is grateful to see that the judge didn't find anything in the petition that undermined the reliability of the jury's verdict," she said.

John Moxley, the victim's brother, said he was relieved but not surprised.

"What you'd really like is Michael to acknowledge what happened and say he's sorry," Moxley said.

Bryant's attorney declined comment.

Bryant gave a videotaped statement to a Skakel investigator in 2003, but has since invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The two men he implicated have done the same.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Skakel's cousin, played a central role in investigating Bryant's claim and telling Skakel's attorneys about it.

Prosecutors have said Bryant's claim was fabricated and that nobody saw him and his friends in the predominantly white, gated neighborhood the night of the murder. Bryant and one of the men he implicated are black; the other has been described as mixed race.

But Skakel's attorneys said key parts of the claim were corroborated.

Skakel also challenged the credibility of a star witness for the state who testified that Skakel confessed to him when they attended a private boarding school. Skakel's attorneys found three men the classmate named as possibly being present, but none said they heard Skakel confess.

Karazin said the three witnesses could have been found before the trial.

Skakel's attorneys accused state investigator Frank Garr of bias because of a book they say he planned with a former Newsday reporter before Skakel was convicted. Garr said he did not get involved in the book until after the verdict and denied any misconduct.

Karazin said Sherman did not ask for a ruling during the trial about Garr's book deal, calling the move "either a lack of due diligence or a strategic decision."

Skakel's attorneys also said the state failed to hand over reports on other suspects and a sketch that they said resembled an early suspect. But Karazin noted that the state Supreme Court found that Skakel's defense was aware of the reports and the sketch during the trial, but failed to make a timely request for them.

Prosecutors said the substance of the reports was disclosed in numerous police reports and other records turned over to Sherman.

Seeley said she will file a federal claim in the next few weeks arguing that the state's failure to turn over the sketch violated Skakel's constitutional rights.